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Tiguinho nailed the last five points of the game (Photo by Rich Graessle)

New Jersey Defeats the Milwaukee Wave at Prudential Center, 12-9

Newark, N.J. (Saturday, April 4, 2009) – After George Martin, captain of the 1986 Super Bowl champion New York Giants, did the honors during the opening kick ceremony, the New Jersey Ironmen (10-9) and Milwaukee Wave (9-10) battled for 60 minutes at Prudential Center in Newark today. When the smoke cleared, New Jersey eventually edged Milwaukee by a count of 12-9.

An Xtreme Soccer League champion may have already been crowned prior to kickoff today, but that did not sway the intensity of the consummate professionals that play for the Ironmen and Wave. New Jersey forward Shaun David got the scoring started in this contest when he hit a solo strike at 4:57 of the first quarter, and a Chile Farias to Lucio Gonzaga notch at 13:00 made it 4-0 in favor of the hometown Ironmen. Milwaukee then railed off seven straight points before Farias set up an Oral Bullen triple at 10:20 of the second quarter. The 7-7 knot-up stood as the final seconds of the opening half ticked off the clock and the teams headed to the locker rooms for intermission.

At 3:57 of the third period, a Marco Terminesi goal gave the Wave a 9-7 advantage, but veteran midfielder Goran Vasic hooked up Tiguinho on a three-pointer to reacquire the lead for New Jersey, 10-9. Tiguinho iced it by finishing a Nebo Stamenkovic feed at 13:08 to hang the final 12-9 tally and solidifying the Ironmen as runners-up to the 2008-09 XSL title.

New Jersey will finish out the season tomorrow afternoon when they host the Detroit Ignition (12-7) at Prudential Center. Kickoff is slated for 4:00 p.m. and former U.S. National Team captain Claudio Reyna will serve as the Ironmen honorary captain. Don’t miss your last chance to see the Ironmen play until next winter! Call 1-800-IRONMEN now for tickets!